CANADA STOCKS-TSX rises as upbeat China data spurs resources

* TSX up 68.04 points, or 0.54 percent, at 12,590.28
* All 10 main sectors on index advance
* Gold stocks make biggest gains
By John Tilak
TORONTO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Resource shares pushed Canada's
main stock index higher on Thursday as robust trade data from
China signaled a pickup in global demand and boosted commodity
prices.
Investors were also encouraged by the European Central
Bank's decision to hold interest rates at a record low and by
ECB comments that the euro zone economy will recover later in
2013.
The index's materials sector, which includes mining stocks,
jumped 1.5 percent, with gold companies making the biggest gains
on a rally in gold prices.
Goldcorp Inc added 3.9 percent to C$36.80, Barrick
Gold Corp gained 1.7 percent to C$33.75, and Yamana
Gold Inc jumped 4.8 percent to C$17.11. The three
stocks played a major role in leading the index higher.
Data on Thursday showed China's exports hit a seven-month
high in December, a strong finish to the year after seven
straight quarters of slowdown.
"Any indication that the Chinese economy is starting to perk
up is helping the markets," said Youssef Zohny, portfolio
manager at Stenner Investment Partners, a unit of Richardson
GMP, in Vancouver.
"We're going to see fits and starts. There's probably not
going to be a straight line. But in the medium term, there's
some good momentum," he added.
At midafternoon, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX
composite index was up 68.04 points, or 0.54 percent,
at 12,590.28. The index's 10 main sectors were all higher.
The energy sector was up 0.3 percent as Brent crude oil
prices reached a 12-week high on the Chinese data and on news
that Saudi Arabia was cutting its crude oil production..
In the group, Suncor Energy Inc rose 0.9 percent to
C$33.58.
"We don't think it's going to be a blockbuster year, but it
could be a better year for energy stocks in particular, and
hopefully some material stocks," said Michael Sprung, president
of Sprung Investment Management.
Financials rose 0.2 percent, with Bank of Nova Scotia
gaining 0.4 percent to C$57.84.